Injury will force Predators to play without their captain

The Nashville Predators will be without their captain and leading goal scorer, Jason Arnott, for up to two weeks because of an injury he sustained in Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss[1] at Washington.

Officially, he was placed on Injured Reserve with an upper body injury. Arnott’s left arm was a sling Monday and he said he had pain in the shoulder and elbow.

“We’re going to say a week or two and go from there,” Arnott said. “We’re going to see how it responds in the next four or five days. Hopefully, it heals quicker than normal.”

Cal O’Reilly, who was recalled last week, skated in Arnott’s place on the Predators’ first line with wings Steve Sullivan and J.P. Dumont at Monday’s practice.

Coach Barry Trotz said the team plans to wait until Tuesday before it decides whether to recall a player from Milwaukee to fill Arnott’s roster spot.

Nashville plays three road games in four days beginning Wednesday at Boston. Arnott will stay in town and perform rehab rather than go with the team on that trip.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound center has three of the nine goals scored by the Predators this season, including their only one on the power play. His five points are second to Patric Hornqvist’s six. He also has a team-high 31 shots on goal.

“I thought, especially last game, he played with weight,” Trotz said. “… When (Arnott) plays with that determination and that weight, when he wants to play that ‘I’m 6-foot-5, I have the puck and your’re not getting it’ type of game, he’s dominant.

“He was playing that way, I thought, in Washington. He was playing that big man’s game … and then got nicked up.”

Arnott was injured during a third-period power play when he got tangled up with a Washington player.

“I swung in to take a shot … and (someone) either fell or slid into me somehow, and I didn’t see him,” Arnott said. “He blindsided me in the legs, I went down on to may arm and hit a bone.

“It hurt a lot.”

He returned to the game after getting hurt and played a total of 21 minutes, second-most among Nashville forwards. He said by the time the start of the shootout, though, he was unable to lift his arm.

His injury is the second to a member of the Predators’ top line this season. Dumont missed four games after he was hurt in the season-opener at Dallas.

“It’s tough, but it’s part of the game,” Arnott said. “I’m glad that it’s not overly serious and it’s not going to be a real long injury. Hopefully I’ll be back soon and back playing with those guys, helping them out.”